TESTIMONIALS

"I would like to thank all at Cambridge Woodwind Makers for another enjoyable course. It was great to be back in the workshop and to learn some new techniques. I am pleased with the finished instrument. I haven't been able to play it yet but I have a reed on order and hope to try it out soon." - Tom Kehoe | Baroque Oboe Making | Paul van der Linden | July 2016

"Thank you! It was a lovely week! I have learned a lot and will definitely keep on making flutes. And coming back in the future (for an other course even) is very probable." - Tanja | Wooden Flute Making | Robert Bigio | July 2016

"Thank you Daniel and Rosemary for the terrific week at CWM and workshop coordination. The lunches were delicious, experiencing the granary community life was fun and of course, the ride in the Armstrong Siddley was a memorable treat. - Thank you Robert for a brilliant week! Your passion about the craftsmanship of wooden flutes is inspiring, and your expertise made it a delight to learn to make a flute with you!" - Kate | Wooden Flute Making | Robert Bigio | July 2016

"I really enjoyed the course a couple of weeks ago on recorder knowledge. It was a good reinforcement that what I was doing was correct and also it has challenged me to look further at the instrument and be able to offer further services in my business. Jacqueline is an excellent communicator...." - Anthony | Recorder Knoweldge | Jacqueline Sorel | June 2016

"...jolly good event into which I'm guessing you put a lot of work. I really enjoyed and had some really good chats with punters and makers so productive for me. I do like the coffee facility and the coffee is superb. Also like the wood oven (we've just built one in the garden)." - Chris Raven | Early Instrument Exhibition | June 2016

"Just to say thanks ++ for organising such a superb day yesterday. It is a great testament to what you have achieved that while other courses are closing, you are able to get together such a gathering of top makers and an interested public of all ages in such a splendid workshop. (And that gun drill is wicked!)." - Jem Berry | Early Instrument Exhibition | June 2016

"Just a message of thanks for everyone involved in the brilliant course this weekend. It was exactly what I had hoped for. As a complete novice I wanted to make sure I started off with a good foundation to build on. Adam's clear explanations and relaxed and generous teaching style provided just that. Making reeds seems like a black art to those of us that have never tried and now it seems possible that I might with practice actually manage to keep myself in playable reeds. It was a great weekend in lovely surroundings. Thank you." - Rachel | Oboe Reed Making | Adam Shapiro | April 2016

"I really enjoyed the reed course with Adam Shapiro last weekend. I learned a great deal and enjoyed it very much - plus the spring sunshine. The classic car gathering on the Sunday was also a very interesting aside." - Howard | Oboe Reed Making | Adam Shapiro | April 2016

"Many thanks once again for giving us the opportunity of a splendid, instructional couple of days in company with Adam." - Tom | Oboe Reed Making | Adam Shapiro | April 2016

"Robert and Daniel - thanks enormously for the headjoint workshop. It was pretty intensive, even with the breaks, and I learnt yet more about flute making. Thanks Robert for the masterclass in embouchure forming as well as the rest of the work. A couple of years ago I couldn't have imagined I could do what is now possible (although there seems a long way still to go). For me your CWM objective has been achieved, Daniel. And I couldn't possibly have got here without Robert's assistance and support." - Flute Headjoint Making | Robert Bigio | November 2015

" Sebastien, his dad, and his grandparents, would like to tell you what a lovely morning we all had at your woodland whistle making class on Saturday. We all appreciated your great approach to the children, assuming that they would be capable of using the tools and giving them the freedom to learn by doing it themselves. To come home with a Swanee whistle was a bonus and was proudly displayed to Sebastien's younger cousins later on. I am sure we will see you again one day but in the meantime, thank you very much indeed for Saturday. " - Woodland Whistle Making | Daniel Bangham | June 2015

" Adam was superb, both as a teacher and a technician, and, yes, he must come back as often as he will. In the yearly world of oboe reed making two or three intensely focused w/ends are so much more beneficial than the odd half day... " - Daphne Craig | Oboe Reed Making with Adam Shapiro | April 2015

"Just a note to repeat my thanks for your outstanding reed-making course. Your encyclopaedic knowledge of all things oboe combined with your teaching skills and enthusiasm made it a most enjoyable and valuable couple of days that far exceeded my expectations. Not only did you manage simultaneously to demonstrate modern and baroque reed-making, but you also managed to give each of us 1:1 time tailored to our individual needs. I now have a clear ‘recipe’ to make reeds for my particular baroque oboe, a couple of reeds to use as inspiration and several staple suggestions to try for myself. Fantastic!....In the meantime, thanks +++ for giving so generously of your time and expertise." - Oboe Reed Making with Adam Shapiro | April 2015

"I have just returned from the (as you predicted) excellent course run by Jacqueline Sorel. It was exactly what I needed as an amateur recorder player, enabling me to understand the principles of the instrument and how to care for it to keep it in top condition. She is a first-rate teacher and, clearly, a first-rate craftsman. Very interesting to compare her recorders with my 40-year-old Moecks. Many thanks for laying on the course." - Peter Draper | Recorder Knowledge with Jacqueline Sorel | March 2015

"It was a fantastic afternoon! We loved it! She was fab with the children and very passionate about what she does." - Natasha Cox | Recorder Knowledge - Private Children's Group with Jacqueline Sorel | March 2015

"Thank you very much for a most enjoyable day today. I feel far more confident now in looking closely at my instruments and assessing how they are working. I was amazed what a difference a tiny adjustment made. I would certainly have turned a screw through 90 degrees if I had had the courage to turn it at all, and now I know how tiny the adjustments need to be." | Oboe & Bassoon Repair & Care 2015

"Are you pleased with the course and the result of the course?"

"Absolutely! Not only with the quality of the clarinet and the amount of information learned, but also with the horizon-widening mind set and approach."

"I hope you won't mind showing the clarinet off and if it would be a great time to try the instrument out in the new ACE concert hall if possible."

"It would be an honour! " | Clarinet Making with Daniel Bangham 2013

"As you have heard, it was a wonderful week, and Robert generously worked with us to get the flutes completed. I was very pleased. And I am very impressed with what you have created at Stapleford Granary. It's a great place, and I hope I'll return some day. Many thanks! " | Wooden Flute Making 2013

“A particular strength was the flexibility in the day-by-day schedule, which meant there was no sense of working to deadlines. That kept the disparity of teacher/pupils roles out of the way and let us interact as friends - one of whom generously shared his expertise as an instrument maker with the other two.” | Wooden Flute Making with Robert Bigio 2012

” …the highlight was seeing those beautiful flutes from history I've read about and never thought I'd get to see in real life.” | Flute Repair & Care 2012

“Loved the workshop.” | Trumpet Making 2012

“Thank you for organising this most enjoyable week! There's nothing like hands-on experience.” | Trumpet Making 2012

“The course was an absolute treat. It seems astonishing that two complete novices managed to produce successful flutes in just five days.” | Wooden Flute Making with Robert Bigio 2012

“I really enjoyed the trumpet making course and am very pleased with the end result. I was practicing on the trumpet earlier this evening and know I will get a great deal of pleasure in learning how to play it in the future.” | Trumpet Making 2012

"It was both informative and rewarding and the ability to get one's hands dirty stripping the mechanism of an oboe without the fear that it wouldn't go back together again was a rare opportunity." | Oboe & Bassoon Repair & Care Course 2012

What others have thought about courses with Cambridge Woodwind Makers.